Microfiche holder

ABSTRACT

A microfiche holder for a microfiche reader includes a guide surface having a series of corrugations which provide a tactile reference to the operator as he inserts a microfiche into the holder.

limited States Patent 1 1 Taylor 1 1 MICROFICHE HOLDER [75] Inventor:Clarence R. Taylor, Rochester, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Eastman Kodak Rochester, N.Y.

[22] Filed: Sept. 2, 1970 [21] Appl. No.2 69,053

Company,

[52] US. Cl. ..353/27, 353/22, 353/78 [51] Int. Cl....G03b 21/14, G03b23/08, G03b 21/22 [58] Field of Search ..353/22, 23, 74-78,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Brownscombe ..353/27 1M3l'ch13, 1973 1,937,827 9/1934 Shwantz 355/75 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS1,169,753 1/1959 France ..353/76 Primary ExaminerLeonard FormanAssistant Examiner-A. J. Mirabito Attorney-R. W. Hampton and John D.Husser [57] ABSTRACT A microfiche holder for a microfiche readerincludes a guide surface having a series of corrugations which provide atactile reference to the operator as he inserts a microfiche into theholder.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAR131975 $720,4 3

SHEET 10F 2 CLARENCE R. TAYLOR INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS PATENTEDHAR] 3197a 3,720,463

, sum 2 or 2 CLARENCE R. TAYLOR INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS MICROFICIIE HOLDER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSReference is made to commonly assigned copending U.S. Pat. applicationSer. No. 69,074, entitled COL- LAPSIBLE MICROFICHE READER, filed Sept.2, 1970, in the name of Clarence R. Taylor, and to commonly assignedcopending U.S. application Ser. No. 69,073, entitled MICROFICHE READERHAVING AN EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION FACILITAT- ING A PLURALITY F OPERATINGORIENTA- TIONS, filed Sept. 2, 1970, in the name of Clarence R. Taylor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to microfilm viewing apparatus and more particularly to amicrofiche holding device capable of receiving movably supporting andinfluencing the orientation of a microfiche as inserted therein.

2. Description of the Prior Art Microfilm viewing apparatus of the typefor projecting images from image-bearing media in the form of flatsheets such as for example microfiche are generally well known.Moreover, it is well known to provide a holder or other means forsupporting the microfiche in a selected orientation in a suitable planefor projection and a carriage for moving the holder within theprojection plane so that images carried by the microfiche may beselectively aligned with the projection system of the apparatus. Many ofsuch holding and aligning devices are structurally complex and thereforeundesirable for incorporation in a low-cost microfilm reader.

One type of simplified microfiche holding and positioning device or gateincludes a pair of transparent flats which are located in the projectionlight path of the reader and together define the projection plane of thereader. Such flats are usually spaced apart a distance slightly morethan the thickness of a microfiche, the images of which are to beprojected by the apparatus. In simple apparatus such as described, themicrofiche is normally inserted, positioned and removed by hand.

One problem encountered in a simple microfiche gate or holder of thisnature is that of orienting the microfiche with respect to theprojection system. Because of the absence of a positioning carriage itis possible, and in fact probable, that the microfiche will not beoriented properly and that the image projected by the reader projectionsystem will not be square with respect to the screen. Therefore, theoperator will have to manipulate the microfiche until the image issquare with the screen. Such an operation can only be done while thereader is in operation since it is essentially a task with the operatorusing the image projected on the screen as a visual reference. Such aprocedure is time consuming and troublesome for the operator.

It therefore is desirable to provide a microfiche reader with amicrofiche holder which is simple in construction but which eliminatesthe problem of maintaining proper orientation encountered in such priorart devices. 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a principal object of thepresent invention to provide a simplified microfiche reader havingimproved means for facilitating the insertion, manipulation andorientation of microfiche therein.

It is a further object of this invention to provide apparatus forreceiving a microfiche and holding it within the projection plane of areader while at the same time providing the operator with a tactilereference such that the microfiche may be oriented with respect to thereader projection screen.

In accordance with the teachings of this invention, these and otherobjects are met by providing projection apparatus with a uniquesupporting and positioning structure for an information-bearing mediuminserted therein. In general, thisstructure includes a pair of holdingand guide members which are supported in opposed relation so that aportion of an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween will bepositioned in the projection plane of the microfilm reader. At least oneof the guide members is constructed having a surface which influencesthe orientation of an inserted medi- In the embodiment of the inventiondisclosed below, the projection plane is defined by a pair of glassflats which are supported by the guide members. Means, such as a seriesof corrugations, are located on one of the guide surfaces for exertingtendency forces on one edge of the inserted medium such that a tactilereference is provided the operator without depreciably hinderingmovement of the microfiche by the operator while the fiche is betweenthe surfaces of the two guide members.

The invention, and its objects and advantages, will become more apparentin the detailed description of the preferred embodiment presented belowin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of asmall microfiche reader incorporating a microfiche holder in accordancewith the teachings of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the microfiche reader shown in FIG. 1,taken along line 2--2; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microfiche holdershown in the reader cross-section of FIG. 2 with an information-bearingmedium inserted therein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawingsand in particular to FIG. 1 there is shown a microfilm projectionapparatus or personal microfiche reader 10 which is compact andlightweight. The housing 12 of reader 10 can be constructed so as to berigid, or so as to be collapsible as described in the commonly assignedcopending application referenced above entitled COLLAPSIBLE MICROFICHEREADER. Supported by housing 12 is a rear projection screen 14 on whichimages are projected by the projection system of reader 10. A projectorhousing 16 is attached to the panel 18 of reader 10 and encloses thevarious projecting elements to be subsequently described in conjunctionwith FIG. 2. Projector housing 16 includes a slot or opening 20 intowhich microfilm in sheet form may be inserted for projection. In theillustration of FIG. 1 a microfiche 22 is shown inserted in slot 20. Itwill be understood that the present invention is not limited to use withmicrofiche but also is adaptable to other forms of microfilm in sheetform such as, for example, aperture cards.

The construction of microfilm reader is more clearly shown in thecross-sectional view in FIG. 2. The projecting elements of film reader10 supported within projection housing 18 include a light source or lamp24, a reflector 26, a heat glass 28, condenser lens elements 30 and 34,a mirror 32, a projection lens 36 and a focusing knob 38 which is usedto focus the image projected on screen 14 by the projection system. Filmgate 40 is also supported by projector housing 16. In operation, lightfrom lamp 24 and reflector 26 is transmitted through heat glass 28 andcondenser element 30 to mirror 32 as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2.The light is reflected by mirror 32 through condenser element 34 toprojection lens 36. After refraction by projection lens 36, the lightpasses through aperture 46 in panel 18 to a mirror 48 mounted withinhousing 12 where it is reflected to a second mirror 50 within housing 12which in turn reflects the light to the rear projection screen 14.

An enlarged and more detailed illustration of film gate 40 in partialcross-section is depicted in FIG. 3. Film gate 40 includes a pair oftransparent plate elements or flats 42 and 44 which are serially alignedwith condenser lens element 34 and projection lens 36. Flat 42 ismounted in an aperture 43 located in holding member or guide 52, andflat 44 is mounted in an aperture 45 located in holding member of guide54. Flats 42 and 44 are positioned in an opposed relationship so as todefine between them the projection plane of reader 10. Flat 42 is spacedfrom flat 44 a distance sufficient to allow an image-bearing medium suchas a microfiche to be inserted between the flats, but it is spaced closeenough to flat 44 so as to maintain such an inserted mediumsubstantially within the defined projection plane. Flats 42 and 44 maybe constructed of any suitable transparent material such as, forexample, glass or plastic.

Guide members 52 and 54 which support flats 42 and 44 are likewisesupported by projector housing 16 in an opposed relation, therebydefining opening or slot into which an image-bearing medium is insertedfor projection. At one end 55 of slot 20, members 52 and 54 are joinedtogether in any suitable manner. Between flat 44 and end 55, the innersurface 56 of member 54 is curved, being convex in shape. The opposedsurface 58 of member 52 is likewise generally curved between flat 42 andend 55, being concave in shape and generally complementary to surface56. However, unlike surface 56 which is relatively smooth, surface 58 iscorrugated, having a series of parallel ridges 60 which are orientedgenerally perpendicular to the direction of insertion, that is, adirection running generally from the entrance 19 of slot 20 to the end55 of slot 20. Although surface 58 is shown in the instant embodiment asconsisting of a series of ridges 60 which are best shown in FIG. 3, itwill be understood that any number of shapes would suffice to performthe function which is to be subsequently described below withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

Reference is made to FIG. 3 so that the operation of film gate 40 can bemore completely explained. As can be seen in FIG. 3 a portion ofmicrofiche 22 is shown inserted within film gate 40 between flats 42 and44 and members 52 and 54. The curvature of members 52 and 54 is slightlyexaggerated for purposes of illustration. It can be seen that because ofthe curvature of members 52 and 54, microfiche 22 is caused primarily tolie against smooth surface 56. However, the leading edge 62 ofmicrofiche 22 is caused to bear against the opposite corrugated surface58. Therefore, as microfiche 22 is inserted into holder 40 by theoperator in a direction as indicated by arrow 64, leading edge 62 willsuccessively bear against ridges 60. For example, in FIG. 3, leadingedge 62 is shown abutting front surface 66a of ridge 60a. The resistancewhich surface 66a applies to edge 62 to resist the forward movement ofmicrofiche 22 as it is inserted into holder 40 by the operator providesthe operator with a tactile reference via the microfiche so that heexperiences a feeling of squareness of the microfiche with respect tothe ridges and therefore with respect to the projection system of reader10. For instance, if microfiche 22 is inserted into slot 20 with leadingedge 62 at an acute angle to ridge 60a, edge 62 will contact the frontsurface 66a of ridge 60a at one point only, rather than along the entirelength of ridge 60a or edge 62. As the operator continues to move thefiche into slot 20, front surface 660 resists movement of edge 62 at theoriginal point of contact. The rest of edge 62 which does not contactsurface 66a will continue to move, rotating about the original point ofcontact, until the entire edge 62 is substantially in contact withsurface 66a. As the operator applies more force to microfiche 22 theleading edge 62 will then ride up over the apex 68a of ridge 60a andrest on back surface 70a of ridge 60a until it encounters ridge 60bwherethe same process is again repeated. In FIG. 3, leading edge 62' is shownin dotted line bearing against front surface 66c of ridge 60c afterhaving passed ridge 60b. Each encounter of the leading edge ofmicrofiche 22 with the front surface of a ridge 60 of corrugated surface58 is a tactile reference for the operator thus enabling him to squarethe fiche with respect to the projection system without having toenergize projection lamp 24.

Microfiche 22 is lightly held in film gate 40 by both the close spacingof flats 42 and 44 which are spaced just slightly more than thethickness of a microfilm sheet and also by the curvature and spacing ofmembers 52 and 54. Because of this curvature and the complementaryrelationship of members 52 and 54, when microfiche 22 is inserted intoslot 20, it is flexed sufficiently to develop restoring forces withinthe microfiche itself, causing portions of it to bear against surfaces56 and 58 as was described above. Movement of the microfiche is therebyretarded when it is released from the operator's grasp. As can be seenfrom FIG. 3, by guiding the microfiche to follow a path of simplecurvature (turning in one direction), continuing flexure occurs withfurther microfiche insertion. If desired, a covering of fabric pile orother material can be applied to the surfaces of members 52 and 54 inthe areas immediately surrounding flats 42 and 44 to prevent thescratching of a microfiche when inserted therebetween. A fabric pilecovering can also be applied to smooth surface 56 of member 54 for thesame reason. In fact,

such a covering is desirable although it is not necessary to theoperation of this invention.

Although it is contemplated that the ridges 60 of corrugated surface 58will run transverse to the direction of insertion of the microfiche asin the preferred embodiment where they are perpendicular to suchdirection, this is not particularly necessary since they may bepositioned at an angle to the direction of insertion. Even if this isthe case their function is still the same, i.e., to provide a tactilereference for the operator so that he can orient the microfiche withrespect to the projection system of the microfilm reader 10, even thoughsuch orientation is other than square with respect to reader 10..

It is apparent from the foregoing description that film gate 40 asdescribed is a relatively simple device with no moving parts therebycontributing to a relatively service free and long product life.Although its simple design lends it readily for incorporation intoreaders of the small and compact variety, nevertheless it may beincorporated into larger readers where there is the desire and/ornecessity for a simple and reliable microfiche holder.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variationsand modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

I claim:

I. In projection apparatus having a projection plane and means forprojecting a selected image from a medium bearing plural images which islocated in the projection plane, an improved device for orienting themedium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions relative tothe projecting means comprising:

means for receiving such medium in the projection apparatus;

means for supporting a portion of a received medium substantially in theprojection plane;

means associated with said receiving means for releasably engaging areceived medium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions inthe projection plane to provide a tactile reference via the receivedmedium for indicating the orientation of the medium with respect to theprojection means at a selected one of said plurality of image-projectionpositions;

said means for receiving including first and second spaced, opposedguide means defining a path of simple curvature extending from saidmeans for supporting, said first and second guide means being spacedfrom each other a distance such that an image-bearing medium insertedtherebetween is flexed to create restoring forces within the medium,said forces tending to straighten the flexed medium and urge the mediumagainst said medium engaging means.

2. In projection apparatus having a projection plane and means forprojecting a selected image from a medium bearing plural images which islocated in the projection plane, an improved device for orienting themedium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions relative tothe projecting means comprising:

means for receiving such medium in the projection apparatus;

means for supporting a portion of a received medium substantially in theprojection plane;

means associated with said receiving means for releasably engaging areceived medium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions inthe projection plane to provide a tactile reference via the receivedmedium for indicating the orientation of the medium with respect to theprojection means at a selected one of said plurality of image-projectingpositions;

said means for receiving including means defining a pair of spacedopposed, complementary curved surfaces extending from said means forsupporting, one of said curved surfaces being convex in shape and theother of said surfaces being concave in shape, said curved surfaces ofsaid defining means being spaced from each other a distance such that animage-bearing medium inserted therebetween is flexed to create restoringforces within the medium, said forces tending to straighten the flexedmedium thereby maintaining the position of the medium between saidcurved surfaces.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said supporting meansincludes a pair of transparent plate elements supported on either sideof the projection plane and spaced from each other a distance so as tosubstantially maintain in the projection plane a portion of animage-bearing medium inserted between said plate elements.

4. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said tactile referenceproviding means includes a series of corrugations on said concavesurface of said defining means.

5. In combination with projection apparatus of the type having aprojection plane and means for projecting an image from an image-bearingmedium located in the projection plane, the improvement which comprises:

a. a pair of transparent plates supported on either side of theprojection plane, said plates being spaced from each other a distancesuch that the portion of an image-bearing medium inserted therebetweenis maintained substantially in the projection plane;

b. a first guide member having a generally convex guide surfaceextending from one of said transparent plates;

c. a second guide member having a generally concave guide surfaceextending from the other of said transparent plates and supported inclosely spaced, opposed relation to said first guide member, saidconcave and convex guide surfaces being opposed and generallycomplementary so that an image-bearing medium inserted between saidguide surfaces is flexed to create forces in the inserted medium, whichforces tend to bias the leading edge of the inserted medium against saidconcave guide surface; and

d. means on said concave guide surface for exerting forces on theleading edge of an inserted medium which is biased against said concaveguide surface so as to tend to orient the medium in a predeterminedorientation with respect to said projecting means.

6. The invention defined in claim wherein said force exerting meansincludes a series of corrugations in said concave guide surface, saidcorrugations running substantially transverse to the direction ofinsertion of the image-bearing medium.

7. Apparatus for holding a flexible image-bearing medium in theprojection plane of a projector, said apparatus comprising:

a. a first holding member having a concave surface and including meansdefining a first aperture through which light can be projected, saidfirst holding member being supported in said apparatus so that saidfirst aperture defining means is located on one side of the projectionplane;

. a second holding member having a convex surface and including meansdefining a second aperture through which light can be projected, saidsecond holding member being supported in said apparatus so that saidsecond aperture defining means is located on a side of the projectionplane opposite said first aperture defining means with said secondaperture aligned with said first aperture, said convex surface spaced inopposed relation from said concave surface a distance so that animage-bearing medium inserted therebetween is flexed by said surfaces,thereby causing the leading edge of the inserted medium to be biasedagainst said concave surface; and

c. means on said concave surface for influencing the orientation of aninserted image-bearing medium when its leading edge is biased againstsaid concave surface.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7 further including first andsecond transparent plates respectively mounted in said first and secondapertures and spaced apart a distance such that the portion of animage-bearing medium inserted therebetween is maintained substantiallyin the projection plane.

9. Apparatus for holding a flexible image-bearing medium in theprojection plane of a projector, said apparatus comprising:

a. a first guide member having a concave surface and a first aperture;

a second guide member having a convex surface and a second aperture,said second guide member supported adjacent said first guide member withsaid second aperture aligned with said first aperture and with saidconvex surface spaced in opposed relation from said concave surface adistance such that an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween isflexed, thereby causing the leading edge of the inserted medium to bebiased against said concave surface and thereby tending to maintain theposition of the inserted medium between said first and second guidemembers; c. first and second transparent members respectively mounted inopposed relation in said first and second apertures and spaced apart adistance such that the portion of an image-bearing medium insertedtherebetween is maintained substantially in the projection plane; and aseries of corrugations incorporated into said concave surface forinfluencing the orientation of an inserted image-bearing medium when itsleading edge is biased against said concave surface.

1. In projection apparatus having a projection plane and means for projecting a selected image from a medium bearing plural images which is located in the projection plane, an improved device for orienting the medium at each of a plurality of imageprojecting positions relative to the projecting means comprising: means for receiving such medium in the projection apparatus; means for supporting a portion of a received medium substantially in the projection plane; means associated with said receiving means for releasably engaging a received medium at each of a plurality of imageprojecting positions in the projection plane to provide a tactile reference via the received medium for indIcating the orientation of the medium with respect to the projection means at a selected one of said plurality of image-projection positions; said means for receiving including first and second spaced, opposed guide means defining a path of simple curvature extending from said means for supporting, said first and second guide means being spaced from each other a distance such that an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween is flexed to create restoring forces within the medium, said forces tending to straighten the flexed medium and urge the medium against said medium engaging means.
 1. In projection apparatus having a projection plane and means for projecting a selected image from a medium bearing plural images which is located in the projection plane, an improved device for orienting the medium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions relative to the projecting means comprising: means for receiving such medium in the projection apparatus; means for supporting a portion of a received medium substantially in the projection plane; means associated with said receiving means for releasably engaging a received medium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions in the projection plane to provide a tactile reference via the received medium for indIcating the orientation of the medium with respect to the projection means at a selected one of said plurality of image-projection positions; said means for receiving including first and second spaced, opposed guide means defining a path of simple curvature extending from said means for supporting, said first and second guide means being spaced from each other a distance such that an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween is flexed to create restoring forces within the medium, said forces tending to straighten the flexed medium and urge the medium against said medium engaging means.
 2. In projection apparatus having a projection plane and means for projecting a selected image from a medium bearing plural images which is located in the projection plane, an improved device for orienting the medium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions relative to the projecting means comprising: means for receiving such medium in the projection apparatus; means for supporting a portion of a received medium substantially in the projection plane; means associated with said receiving means for releasably engaging a received medium at each of a plurality of image-projecting positions in the projection plane to provide a tactile reference via the received medium for indicating the orientation of the medium with respect to the projection means at a selected one of said plurality of image-projecting positions; said means for receiving including means defining a pair of spaced opposed, complementary curved surfaces extending from said means for supporting, one of said curved surfaces being convex in shape and the other of said surfaces being concave in shape, said curved surfaces of said defining means being spaced from each other a distance such that an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween is flexed to create restoring forces within the medium, said forces tending to straighten the flexed medium thereby maintaining the position of the medium between said curved surfaces.
 3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said supporting means includes a pair of transparent plate elements supported on either side of the projection plane and spaced from each other a distance so as to substantially maintain in the projection plane a portion of an image-bearing medium inserted between said plate elements.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said tactile reference providing means includes a series of corrugations on said concave surface of said defining means.
 5. In combination with projection apparatus of the type having a projection plane and means for projecting an image from an image-bearing medium located in the projection plane, the improvement which comprises: a. a pair of transparent plates supported on either side of the projection plane, said plates being spaced from each other a distance such that the portion of an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween is maintained substantially in the projection plane; b. a first guide member having a generally convex guide surface extending from one of said transparent plates; c. a second guide member having a generally concave guide surface extending from the other of said transparent plates and supported in closely spaced, opposed relation to said first guide member, said concave and convex guide surfaces being opposed and generally complementary so that an image-bearing medium inserted between said guide surfaces is flexed to create forces in the inserted medium, which forces tend to bias the leading edge of the inserted medium against said concave guide surface; and d. means on said concave guide surface for exerting forces on the leading edge of an inserted medium which is biased against said concave guide surface so as to tend to orient the medium in a predetermined orientation with respect to said projecting means.
 6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein said force exerting means includes a series of corrugations in said concave guide surface, said corrugatioNs running substantially transverse to the direction of insertion of the image-bearing medium.
 7. Apparatus for holding a flexible image-bearing medium in the projection plane of a projector, said apparatus comprising: a. a first holding member having a concave surface and including means defining a first aperture through which light can be projected, said first holding member being supported in said apparatus so that said first aperture defining means is located on one side of the projection plane; b. a second holding member having a convex surface and including means defining a second aperture through which light can be projected, said second holding member being supported in said apparatus so that said second aperture defining means is located on a side of the projection plane opposite said first aperture defining means with said second aperture aligned with said first aperture, said convex surface spaced in opposed relation from said concave surface a distance so that an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween is flexed by said surfaces, thereby causing the leading edge of the inserted medium to be biased against said concave surface; and c. means on said concave surface for influencing the orientation of an inserted image-bearing medium when its leading edge is biased against said concave surface.
 8. The invention as defined in claim 7 further including first and second transparent plates respectively mounted in said first and second apertures and spaced apart a distance such that the portion of an image-bearing medium inserted therebetween is maintained substantially in the projection plane. 